Sep 15, 2008 06:19 PM
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Delhi was yet again rocked by a series of bomb blasts on last Saturday. This was not the first time the city saw such a tragedy. Other cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Banjalore etc have seen the same recently. I have lost count of the terrorist attacks since 1993 mumbai blasts and the coumtry has lost count of the lives that have been lost. Even larger is the count of those who lost more than lives in them. And its still counting.
I saw "A Wednesday" on this Sunday, often feeling as if I was inside the plot myself. Blame it on the disturbing images running across all the channels since Saturday, or the fact that I was sitting in the front row on the theatre. I sometimes felt that it was easier for me to pick Naseeruddin Shah's cell phone than the vetran actor himself.
The movie begins with an eerie feeling of an undercurrent of terrorism. Possibly because we have read so many reviews about the movie. Possibly because the wounds of Saturday were still ripe. Or possibly because we are so much used to terrorism around us . and sometimes as close as I was to the silver screen.
I do not intend to play spoilsport here. Watch the movie for yourself as my review can never do justice to that. I am here to talk about how much the storyline of this movie links to all of us here.
How Terrorists use the media: Terrorists market fear. Their main intent is not to kill or injure lots of people, but to spread fear to many more. Just imagine if there were no TV channels, Radio or print media, could terrorism have been that successful in marketing fear? Look at how a terrorist uses a TV channel to keep himself informed of the results of his actions. Just think about how the our media reacts whenever there is a terrorist activity or scare. The blast on Saturday killed about 20 and injured over 100, but the number of people that were "sold" this fear were millions across the country. Who were the selling agents? Our media people themselves.
This is not to say that the media should not keep people informed of the latest. News and important information are necessary and the media does a good job of that. I wish to emphasise that the manner a news report is presented makes a lot of difference.
Ideally, what is the media's role here? I have a question for the stalwarts of the Indian media. Are they presenting just the facts or adding their flavor via the asumptions and speculations? Remember, its the latter that is a value added service to the terrorist community, not to the innocent society. Lets face it - we do not have the maturity to distinguish between facts, speculations and assumptions. What happens may be a fact, but the impact that the TV reports actually make is worse. Am I the only stupid common man here or do I have company?
Some of my ramblings above mey not be directly realted to the movie, but these thoughts crossed over my mind while watching the movie.
The fury of the silent man: The common man of India may not have always witnessed death at the scene of the attack, but all of us have been witness to the same over TV, Print media etc. Few of us die silently each time a terror attack happens. Many of us will continue dying unnatural deaths in times to come as well. The common man is understood to have no voice of his own. Even if he has, others are deaf. The government would be prompt in annuncing a compenation fo few lakhs of rupees for the kin of the dead and few thousands to those who got close but survived.The movie touches this sensitive subject well although to to this extent. Again, watch it to feel it!
The police / intelligence agencies need better technology: The movie also hits hard on the fact that terrorists are always 2 steps ahead of the law. The police departments neither have the latest technology nor the best skillset to use it to be proactive. It is also shown that an ordinary man can take one of the best police dapartments for a puppet dance with just a little planning from his end.
The message: The movie shows how a silent common man can vent his anger that was suppressed for years or maybe decades. The law breakers use the law to protect them and the law enforcers are helpless. There seems to be no way out.or is it?
.Beware the fury of a silent man!
